Perceived Barriers and Postsecondary Plans in Mexican American and White Adolescents

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1 Perceived Barriers and Postsecondary Plans in Mexican American and White Adolescents Ellen Hawley McWhirter University of Oregon Danielle M. Torres Lewis & Clark College Susana Salgado Marina Valdez University of Oregon The authors examined perceived internal and external barriers to postsecondary educational plans among 140 Mexican American and 296 White high school students, attending to sex, socioeconomic, ethnic differences. Parent education was associated with educational plans. Girls anticipated encountering more barriers associated with financing postsecondary education than their male counterparts. Mexican American students anticipated encountering more postsecondary education barriers associated with ability, preparation, motivation, support, and separation, and expected those barriers to be more difficult to overcome, than their White counterparts. Implications for research and practice are discussed. Keywords: barriers; career; education; Latino, Mexican American; plans; postsecondary The growing body of literature on social-cognitive career theory has identified perceived barriers as a potentially important contextual factor in understanding the relationship between career interests, choices, and attainments (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994, 2000; Swanson & Woitke, 1997). Findings of gender and ethnic differences in perceptions of career and educational barriers (Luzzo & Hutcheson, 1996; McWhirter, 1997; Swanson, Daniels, & Tokar, 1996) encouraged further exploration of this construct. Research on career barriers predominantly has An earlier version of this article was presented as part of a symposium at the 109th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco. Please address all correspondence concerning this article to: Ellen Hawley McWhirter, PhD, Counseling Psychology Program, 5251 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR ; ellenmcw@uoregon.edu JOURNAL OF CAREER ASSESSMENT, Vol. 15 No. 1, February DOI: / Sage Publications 119

2 120 JOURNAL OF CAREER ASSESSMENT / February 2007 focused on White college students (e.g., Albaugh & Nauta, 2005; Lindley, 2005; Luzzo, 1993, 1995; Luzzo & Hutcheson, 1996; Luzzo & Jenkins-Smith, 1996; Luzzo & McWhirter, 2001; Quimby & O Brien, 2004; Swanson, Daniels, & Tokar, 1996; Swanson & Tokar, 1991a, 1991b). More recently, investigators have examined the relationship between perceived barriers and other social-cognitive constructs among college students of color (Lamba, 2003; Waller, 2002), high school students (Ali & McWhirter, in press; Ali, McWhirter, & Chronister, 2005; Flores & DeWitz, 2001; Flores & O Brien, 2002; Kenny, Blustein, Chaves, Grossman, & Gallagher, 2003; McWhirter, Hackett, & Bandalos, 1998; McWhirter, Rasheed, & Crothers, 2000; Stead, Els, & Fouad, 2004), and community college students of color (Rivera & Chen, 2001; VilaCruz, 2003). Because the high school years are a critical time period for decision making about postsecondary educational and occupational pursuits (Immerwahr, 2003), understanding the nature of perceived barriers to those plans, and efficacy for overcoming those barriers, seems critical. The attainment of postsecondary education has lifelong consequences with respect to wages; for example, college graduates earn an average of 77% more than high school graduates, and enjoy greater benefits, less unemployment, and faster reemployment after job loss than high school graduates (Stuart, 2001; National Center for Educational Statistics [NCES], 2003). This is especially true for groups that are underrepresented in postsecondary education settings, such as Latinos (Ginorio & Huston, 2001; Immerwahr, 2003; NCES, 2001, 2003; Tinkler, 2002; Torres, 2004). Although more Latinos are attending college than has been the case in the past several decades, currently only 10% of Latinos receive a college degree, as compared to 18% of African Americans and 34% of Whites (NCES, 2003). Latinos have higher high school dropout rates and lower high school completion rates than Whites and African Americans (NCES, 2003). Most of the research on Latino American school-age youth involves comparisons with Whites. In the current study, we also examined these two groups with the aim of furthering understanding of possible factors underlying the differences in educational attainment that persist between these two groups. Recognizing the diversity within Latino subgroups, we narrowed our attention to Mexican Americans in particular, the largest subgroup of Latino Americans. Research findings on the relationship between adolescents perceptions of barriers and other career-related constructs have been mixed (Lent et al., 2000). There is some evidence that high school students perceived barriers are inversely related to social-cognitive constructs such as teacher support (McWhirter et al., 1998), career decision-making self-efficacy, vocational skills self-efficacy, and outcome expectations (McWhirter et al., 2000; Torres, 2004). However, the relationship between perceived barriers and career outcome variables such as plans, choices, and attainments has not been well-supported in the empirical literature (Lent et al., 2000). For example, perceived career and educational barriers were not a significant predictor of Mexican American girls (McWhirter et al., 1998) or White boys and girls (Ali et al., 2005) postsecondary educational plans. Flores

3 McWhirter et al. / PERCEIVED BARRIERS AND POSTSECONDARY PLANS 121 and O Brien (2002) found anticipated occupational barriers to be a significant predictor of prestige of career choice in a sample of Mexican American high school girls; however, barriers did not predict level of career aspiration or traditionality of career choice. Ali and McWhirter (in press) found that the likelihood of encountering educational barriers accounted for significant variance in the postsecondary plans of rural Appalachian high school students, and Flores and DeWitz (2001) found that the anticipated difficulty of overcoming educational barriers predicted a significant amount of variance in the educational expectations of Mexican American high school students. Kenny et al. (2003) found perceived barriers to account for a significant amount of variance in career aspirations and school engagement among a diverse sample of urban ninth graders, and Chen, Blumberg, and Austin (2001) found that a set of contextual variables composed of perceived barriers, ethnic identity, and acculturation accounted for a significant amount of variance in the nontraditional career considerations of girls, but not boys, in a sample of Asian American high school students. Finally, Constantine, Wallace, and Kindaichi (2005) found that anticipated career barriers accounted for a significant amount of variance in career indecision, but not the career certainty, of a sample of African American adolescents. The mixed findings in this body of research may be due in part to inconsistency in measurement tools, inadequacies in the measurement of perceived barriers, and the relatively small magnitude of the relationships that have been found. The Perceptions of Barriers measure (McWhirter, 1997) utilized in a number of these studies (e.g., Constantine et al., 2005; Flores & O Brien, 2002) assesses only the likelihood of encountering barriers and excludes items assessing such potential barriers as lack of teacher and peer support and the local availability of desired postsecondary educational options. Furthermore, in each of the previous studies, perceived barriers are examined as a single composite score that provides aggregated information across barriers; that is, although a number of barriers are assessed, it is not clear whether specific types of barriers are accounting for more variance than others. Research providing more specific information about the nature of barriers perceived by young people may provide insight into the inconsistent findings in this body of research. Lent et al. (2000) noted several important issues relative to the examination of perceived barriers in conjunction with career outcome variables. One such issue is the need to differentiate between barriers that individuals expect to encounter, and the individual s sense of efficacy for coping with those barriers. Furthermore, they suggested that barriers research distinguish between internal and external contextual barriers. Finally, they highlighted the need to attend to barriers that are specific to the developmental task faced by the individual (e.g., barriers to selecting a college major vs. barriers to achieving career goals in general). In the current study we focused on perceived barriers to a specific developmental task: pursuing postsecondary educational options. Furthermore, consistent with recommendations regarding the study of perceived barriers (Arbona, 1990;

4 122 JOURNAL OF CAREER ASSESSMENT / February 2007 Lent et al., 2000), we assessed two dimensions of perceived barriers: the likelihood of encountering specific barriers and the estimated difficulty of overcoming those barriers. This distinction potentially broadens understanding of the role of perceived barriers because, for example, an adolescent might anticipate encountering very few barriers but view them as quite difficult to overcome. The goals of the current study were (a) to provide descriptive information regarding the nature of postsecondary education barriers perceived by Mexican American and White high school students, (b) to examine the relationship between specific types of internal and external perceived barriers and postsecondary education plans, and (c) to examine differences in perceived barriers as a function of parent education, sex, and ethnic group membership. No previous research on perceived barriers among high school students has attended to potential differences as a function of socioeconomic status. We selected parent education as our socioeconomic indicator because of the weight it bears on a child s ultimate educational attainment (Choy, 2002). Based on Swanson and Woitke (1997), perceived educational barriers are defined in the current study as internal or external constraints or obstacles to the pursuit of postsecondary education. METHOD Participants Participants were Mexican American (n = 140) and White (n = 296) juniors and seniors from one Midwest (n = 160) and one Southwest (n = 238) high school. The ethnic composition of the schools differed by region, with 4.7% and 75% of the participants self-identifying as Latino in the Midwest and Southwest schools, respectively. There were 231 female and 205 male participants, and the mean age was 17.2 years. The average grades reported by the sample were mostly Bs. The Midwest school was located in a midsized midwestern city surrounded by rural areas, and the Southwest school was located in a semirural area outside of a major city. The postsecondary educational plans that participants intended to pursue shortly after completing high school included the following: no further education (2.5%), specialized training (16.3%), 2-year and/or community college (41%), and bachelor s degree (40%). By comparison, 33% of U.S. adults actually obtain a high school diploma as their highest level of education, and 17% a bachelor s degree (NCES, 2001a). Mean parent education by school (range 1 8) was as follows: Midwest mothers, 4.21 (SD = 1.99), Midwest fathers, 4.21 (SD = 2.02), Southwest mothers, 3.12 (SD = 1.73), and Southwest fathers, 3.34 (SD = 1.93), respectively. Mother and father education were averaged to yield a single score for each participant. For subsequent analyses participants were divided into two equal groups, lower or higher parent education, with the cutoff score of 3.5 falling between some trade school and completed trade school.

5 McWhirter et al. / PERCEIVED BARRIERS AND POSTSECONDARY PLANS 123 Instruments Background questionnaire. Respondents indicated their age, sex, race and/or ethnicity, grades, and mother s and father s education level on a brief background questionnaire. Participants checked the highest level of education each parent had obtained and values of 1 to 8 were assigned, respectively, to: some high school, high school graduate, some trade school, completed trade school, some college, finished bachelor degree, some graduate school, and finished graduate school. Immediate postsecondary plans. Students in the Midwest sample responded to the question: What are your plans for the near future (things you will begin next year or soon after)? (Check all that apply.) Students in the Southwest sample responded to What are your plans after high school (immediately after high school or within the first year after)? (You can check more than one.) The difference in wording was unintended and discovered only after data collection was complete, an issue we consider in the Limitation section. Based on their responses, participants were assigned to one of four postsecondary plans groups: no further education after high school, specialized training (advanced training through the military, apprenticeship, or specialized training such as beautician school), 2-year community college degree, or 4-year bachelor s degree. The Midwest respondents also had master s degree and professional doctorate degree options, and those who selected these options (n = 10) were assigned to the 4-year bachelor degree group because a bachelor s degree must precede a graduate degree. Of the sample, 16% selected more than one option (n = 65). Because we were interested in what they planned to do right after high school, rather than their lifetime educational plans, we coded those with more than one option as follows. If they selected bachelor s degree and a master s and/or professional doctorate, they were assigned to the 4-year bachelor s degree group; if they selected a 2-year and a 4-year degree they were assigned to the 2-year degree group; and if they selected specialized training and a 2-year degree they were assigned to the specialized training group. As such, postsecondary plans as measured in the current study do not indicate aspirations or the highest level of education that the participants intend to obtain and for a small percentage of participants may underestimate the amount of formal education they plan to immediately pursue. Perceptions of Educational Barriers (PEB). This 84-item measure was designed to assess three dimensions of possible barriers to the pursuit of postsecondary education and training (McWhirter, as cited in McWhirter et al., 1998). In the PEB, 28 potential barriers are presented, and respondents rate each barrier with respect to (a) the likelihood that it will occur (four response options anchored by not at all likely [0 pts.] and definitely [4 pts.]), (b) the magnitude of this barrier if it should occur (four response options anchored by not a barrier [0 pts.] and huge barrier [4 pts.]) and (c) the estimated difficulty of overcoming this barrier (four response

6 124 JOURNAL OF CAREER ASSESSMENT / February 2007 options anchored by not at all [0 pts.] to extremely difficult [4 pts.]). Because the Magnitude subscale was highly correlated with the Likelihood (r =.91) and Difficulty (r =.77) subscales, it was not included in the current study. Sample PEB items include Parents don t support my plans, Not talented enough, and Racial/ethnic discrimination. McWhirter et al. (2000) reported scale and subscale internal consistencies of.88 to.96 and a 9-week test retest reliability coefficient of.57 for the PEB total score among 95 high school sophomores. They also reported estimates of concurrent validity using a 10-item measure of the job opportunity structure by Howell, Frese, and Sollie (1984), with coefficients of.40 and.39 for the Likelihood and Difficulty subscales, respectively (McWhirter et al., 2000). In the current study internal consistency estimates of.91 and.94 were obtained for the Likelihood and Difficulty subscales, respectively. Consistent with findings in McWhirter et al. (2000), the Likelihood and Difficulty subscales were significantly correlated (r =.66) in the current sample, indicating that those who anticipate more barriers are also much more likely to expect that they will be difficult to overcome. Procedures Participants completed the study measures as part of two larger survey research projects. All participants were surveyed in intact classroom groups during a required government (Southwest school) or citizenship (Midwest school) course. Two Southwest students requested an alternate activity. Surveys completed by students who reported their ethnicity as other than White or Latino American and/or Mexican American (n = 60) or that appeared invalid (e.g., zigzag responses, n = 26) were excluded from the analyses. Variation in the numbers included in a given analyses is associated with missing data. All surveys were administered by teachers following standard administration procedures. Survey completion time ranged from 30 to 45 mins. Analyses and Results Descriptive information. Data were analyzed using SPSS version There were no differences in immediate educational plans as a function of school, χ 2 (2, 396) =.70, p =.71; sex, χ 2 (2, 396) = 2.2, p =.33; or ethnic group membership, χ 2 (2, 396) =.13, p =.94. Higher mean parent education was associated with plans for more formal higher education, χ 2 (2, 391) = 16.1, p <.001. Data reduction. Lent et al. (2000) suggested that failure to differentiate internal from external barriers may obscure variation in the ways that barriers may interfere with career choices and outcomes. We wanted to maximize attention to this possible variability but at the same time were concerned about Type I error if we conducted MANOVA procedures on individual barriers items. Therefore, we submitted the Likelihood and Difficulty items, respectively, to a principal components analysis using a varimax rotation (Mertler & Vannatta, 2002). Six Likelihood and five Difficulty components were identified that accounted for 55% and 61% of the

7 McWhirter et al. / PERCEIVED BARRIERS AND POSTSECONDARY PLANS 125 cumulative variance, respectively. Mean item scores for these components were used as dependent variables in the MANOVA analyses. Table 1 presents the items and item loadings by component, with labels derived by consensus, and characterized as internal or external barriers. Two MANOVAs were conducted. Tables 2 and 3 provide means and standard deviations for the Likelihood and Difficulty components by independent variable. The Box s M test for homogeneity of variance was significant at p <.001 for both analyses, thus, Pillai s Trace is used instead of Wilks s lambda as the multivariate test statistic (Tabachnik & Fidell, 2001). Partial η 2 is used as the effect size indicator. Educational plans include three levels: specialized training, 2-year degree, and 4-year degree. Only 2.5% (n = 11) of the sample did not plan to pursue formal education or training soon after graduating, and these cases were eliminated from the analyses. Main effects and two-way interactions were examined. Likelihood of encountering barriers. For the first MANOVA, mean scores for the six Likelihood components served as dependent variables, with educational plans (three levels), ethnicity (two levels), parent education (two levels), and sex (two levels) as the independent variables. There were no significant interaction effects. There were no significant main effects for educational plans, Pillai s Trace =.048, F(12, 746) = 1.54, p =.103, η 2 =.024; or for parent education, Pillai s Trace =.035, F(6, 372) = 2.24, p =.039, η 2 =.035. There were main effects for sex, Pillai s Trace =.055, F(6, 372) = 3.61, p =.002, η 2 =.055; and ethnicity, Pillai s Trace =.104, F(6, 372) = 7.16, p <.001, η 2 =.104. Examination of the univariate results associated with sex yielded one significant difference. Financial barriers, F(1) = 7.94, p =.005, η 2 =.021, were significantly more likely to be anticipated by female than male participants. For ethnicity, significant univariate differences were found for Preparation/ Motivation, F(1) = 10.6, p =.001, η 2 =.027; Ability, F(1) = 8.63, p =.004, η 2 =.022; Separation, F(1) = 21.83, p <.001, η 2 =.055; and Relational, F(1) = 20.02, p <.001, η 2 =.05, barriers. In each case, Mexican American participants were more likely than their White counterparts to anticipate encountering these barriers. There were no significant ethnic differences in the anticipated likelihood of encountering Discrimination/Pregnancy, F(1) = 4.88, p =.028, η 2 =.013, or Financial, F(1) =.316, p =.58, η 2 =.001, barriers. Difficulty overcoming barriers to pursuit of postsecondary education and training. Standardized mean scores for the five Difficulty components served as dependent variables in the second MANOVA, with educational plans, ethnicity, parent education, and sex as the independent variables. There were no significant interaction effects. There were no significant main effects for educational plans, Pillai s Trace =.026, F(10, 716) =.959, p =.48, η 2 =.013; or parent education, Pillai s Trace =.014, F(5, 357) = 3.53, p =.418, η 2 =.014. There were main effects for sex, Pillai s Trace =.047, F(5, 357) = 3.53, p =.004, η 2 =.047; and ethnicity, Pillai s Trace =.109, F(5, 357) = 8.712, p <.001, η 2 =.109.

8 126 JOURNAL OF CAREER ASSESSMENT / February 2007 Table 1 Item Loadings and Item Group Labels for Perceived Barriers to Postsecondary Education Item Loading Group Label Likelihood of encountering barriers Not enough money.74 Financial (External) School and/or program.63 very expensive Having to work while.56 going to school Family responsibilities.43 Being married.69 Relational (External) None of my friends.54 doing what I m doing Teachers don t support my plans.53 Pressures from boyfriend.47 or girlfriend Not confident enough.77 Ability (Internal) Not smart enough.69 Not fitting in at new school.65 or program Not talented enough.62 Friends don t support my plans.45 Takes long time to finish.38 training and/or schooling Not being prepared enough.78 Preparation/Motivation Not being interested in.72 (Internal) classes and/or training Lack of motivation.66 Lack of study skills.59 Not knowing kind of school.47 and/or training I want Not being able to get into.40 program I want Sex discrimination.73 Demographic (External) Racial and/or ethic.70 discrimination Pregnancy and/or having.67 children Schooling and/or training.67 Separation (External) I want not available here Others don t think I can do it.62 Not wanting to move away.54 School too stressful.46 Parents don t support my plans.44 (continued)

9 McWhirter et al. / PERCEIVED BARRIERS AND POSTSECONDARY PLANS 127 Table 1 (continued) Item Loading Group Label Difficulty of overcoming barriers Not enough money.77 Financial (External) Having to work while.69 going to school School and/or program.63 very expensive Family responsibilities.42 Friends don t support my plans.76 Other support (External) Teachers don t support my plans.69 No friends are doing what.67 I m doing Others don t think I can do it.58 Not fitting in at new school.46 or program Racial and/or ethnic.73 Demographic/relational discrimination (External) Pregnancy and/or having.72 children Sex discrimination.72 Pressure from boyfriend.67 or girlfriend Being married.59 Lack of motivation.74 Ability/motivation (Internal) Not being prepared enough.71 Lack of study skills.69 Not being interested in.60 class and/or training Not talented enough.60 Not knowing kind of school.58 and/or training I want Not confident enough.56 Not smart enough.54 School too stressful.54 Takes long time to finish.53 training and/or schooling Schooling and/or training I.63 Separation (External) want not available here Parents don t support my plans.59 Not being able to get into.55 program I want Not wanting to move away.54 Univariate results were examined for sex and ethnicity. There were no significant differences for sex at the univariate level. For ethnicity, significant univariate differences were found for Ability/Motivation, F(1) = 20.67, p <.001, η 2 =.054; Demographic/relational, F(1) = 30.64, p <.001, η 2 =.078; Other Support,

10 Table 2 Likelihood of Encountering Types of Barriers to Postsecondary Education and Training by Educational Plans, Parent Education, Sex, and Ethnicity Type of Barrier Preparation Discrimination/ Financial a Relational b Ability b Motivation b Pregnancy Separation b Categorical Variable M SD M SD M SD M SD M SD M SD Educational plans Vocational training (n = 82) year institution(n = 158) year institution (n = 152) Parent education Lower parent education (n = 188) Higher parent education (n = 204) Sex Male (n = 176) Female (n = 216) Ethnicity White (n = 264) Mexican American (n = 128) Across all groups (n = 392) Note. Range for all means is 1 4 with higher number reflecting higher likelihood of encountering these barriers. Significant main effects for ethnicity and sex. a. Significant univariate effect for sex with female > male. b. Significant univariate effect for ethnicity with Mexican American > White. 128

11 Table 3 Difficulty Overcoming Barriers to Postsecondary Education and Training by Educational Plans, Ethnicity, Parent Education, and Sex Type of Barrier Ability/ Demographic/ Financial a Motivation b Relational b Other Support Separation b Categorical Variable M SD M SD M SD M SD M SD Educational plans Vocational training (n = 82) year institution (n = 158) year institution (n = 152) Parent education Lower parent education (n = 188) Higher parent education (n = 204) Sex Male (n = 176) Female (n = 216) Ethnicity White (n = 264) Mexican American (n = 128) Across all groups (n = 392) Note. Range for all means is 1 4 with higher number reflecting higher difficulty of overcoming these barriers. Significant main effects for ethnicity and sex. a. Univariate effect for sex with female > male. b. Univariate effect for ethnicity with Mexican American 129

12 130 JOURNAL OF CAREER ASSESSMENT / February 2007 F(1) = 15.26, p <.001, η 2 =.04; and Separation, F(1) = 27.4, p <.001, η 2 =.071, barriers. In each case, Mexican American participants expected these barriers to be more difficult to overcome. There were no significant ethnic differences in the anticipated likelihood of encountering Financial, F(1) = 3.14, p =.08, η 2 =.009, barriers. DISCUSSION The purpose of the current study was to extend previous literature by examining specific types of perceived barriers associated with the developmental task of pursuing postsecondary education and training, and to examine the likelihood of encountering these barriers and the estimated difficulty overcoming these barriers in relation to educational plans, parental educational attainment, sex, and ethnic group membership. First, we discuss results associated with educational plans, followed by parent education, sex differences, and then ethnic differences in perceived barriers. Next, study strengths, limitations, and implications for future research and practice are presented. Educational Plans and Parent Education There were no differences in anticipated barriers or difficulty overcoming barriers to postsecondary education as a function of the immediate postsecondary plans reported by this sample of high school students. This finding was contrary to our expectations, especially given that we assessed barriers specific to the task of postsecondary pursuits (Lent et al., 2000). The large sample size and the lack of floor or ceiling effects in the dependent variables increase our confidence in these findings. It may simply be that the barriers they anticipate, and the difficulty of overcoming those barriers, do not enter into their planning process at this level. Educational plans also did not differ as a function of sex or ethnic group membership. With respect to sex, these findings are largely consistent with recent census data on educational attainment (NCES, 2001a). The absence of significant ethnic differences, however, is inconsistent with the actual educational attainment rates of U.S. non-hispanic Whites and Latinos. The highest level of Latino educational attainment is lower than that of Whites across the education spectrum, for example, high school (27% vs. 34%), and bachelor s degree (7% vs. 17%; NCES, 2001a). Unless the participants in the current study are uniquely successful in achieving their plans, something will happen to reduce the correspondence between their immediate postsecondary educational plans and their educational attainment, particularly among the Mexican American students. Educational plans differed only as a function of parent education, such that those with higher mean parental educational attainment were more likely to plan to attend 4-year colleges after high school, and those reporting lower parental educational attainment more likely to

13 McWhirter et al. / PERCEIVED BARRIERS AND POSTSECONDARY PLANS 131 plan to attend a 2-year college after high school. These findings are consistent with findings reported by the NCES (2001b). With respect to parent education, we had suspected that participants whose parents had more formal education would perceive fewer barriers to postsecondary education and training pursuits. That is not the case, ruling out the possibility that parental education would account for some of the large ethnic group differences in perceived barriers that have been identified in previous research (e.g., McWhirter, 1997). It is possible that more refined measurement of parental education would yield different results, or that averaging mother and father s educational attainment obscured the effects of the educational attainment of mother or father alone. However, the very small magnitude of the effect size indicators for these analyses suggests that parent education is not associated with high school students anticipated barriers to postsecondary pursuits or their estimates of the difficulty of overcoming those barriers. Perceived barriers may affect the actual pursuit of postsecondary plans or persistence when barriers are encountered. Sex Differences in Postsecondary Education Barriers Previous research on sex differences in perceived career barriers among high school and college students (Luzzo & McWhirter, 2001; McWhirter, 1997; Swanson & Tokar, 1991a) has found that female students are more likely to anticipate barriers such as sex discrimination. In the current study, girls were not more likely than boys to anticipate postsecondary educational barriers associated with sex discrimination, pregnancy and childbearing, or being married, nor did they rate these barriers as more difficult to overcome than their male counterparts. Cell means in Table 2 suggest that girls and boys rated this group of barriers lower relative to the other barriers. The lack of sex differences is consistent with findings by Kenny et al. (2003), who examined barriers to future career and postsecondary educational pursuits in a sample of urban, ethnically diverse adolescents. Given that most of the findings of sex differences have included attention to work or career-related barriers, it may be that sex differences are linked with the more distal career and work arenas and not as salient for most high school students in the context of postsecondary educational pursuits. Girls in the current sample did anticipate that they would encounter more financial barriers to the pursuit of their postsecondary plans; however, they did not anticipate that those barriers would be more difficult to overcome than their male counterparts. Ethnic Differences in Postsecondary Education Barriers Mexican American participants anticipated more internal and external barriers and perceived those barriers to be more difficult to overcome than did their White counterparts. The magnitude of the effect sizes is notable, with medium to large effect sizes for each univariate difference. As noted, these differences are not accounted for by differences in mean parental educational attainment.

14 132 JOURNAL OF CAREER ASSESSMENT / February 2007 Mexican American students expected to encounter more Ability barriers, that is, those associated with having the ability, talent, and confidence to succeed, fitting in, and the support of friends for their plans, than their White counterparts. The Mexican American participants also expected to encounter more barriers associated with Preparation/Motivation for attending postsecondary education programs, including study skills, knowing what they want to do, lack of motivation, and not being able to get in to the program or training opportunity of interest. They also expected that all of these barriers would be more difficult to overcome. This set of findings is consistent with a variety of reports suggesting that ethnic minority students are often less well prepared for postsecondary education, and that they achieve and are expected to achieve less than White students (Ginorio & Huston, 2001; Luzzo, 1993; NCES, 2001a; Vasquez, 1982). According to NCES (2001b), academic preparation for college among high school graduates is associated with parental educational attainment, which was lower among the Mexican American students in this sample. Perhaps in this way parental educational attainment indirectly influences perceptions of postsecondary educational barriers. The Mexican American participants anticipated encountering Separation barriers to a greater extent than their White counterparts and expected they would be more difficult to overcome. These findings may reflect traditional cultural expectations that responsibility to the family is central. When educational plans conflict with familial responsibilities, Latino students may be more likely to alter their educational plans (Ginorio & Huston, 2001). The importance of parent support and involvement in educational and career planning has been well documented (Amundson & Penner, 1998; Constantine et al., 2005; McClelland & Chen, 1997; McWhirter et al., 1998; Ramos & Sanchez, 1995; Trusty & Watts, 1996; Turner & Lapan, 2002), as has evidence that Latino parents have high educational expectations for their children (Azmitia & Cooper, 2002; Goldenberg, Gallimore, Reese, & Garnier, 2001). A lack of proximal opportunities may decrease the likelihood of actually carrying out plans for postsecondary education for Latino students (Ginorio & Huston, 2001). Perhaps the desire to pursue opportunities that lead away from home conflicts with the desire to remain within geographic areas, reducing the scope of interests and increasing the Mexican American students sense of difficulty in overcoming this set of barriers. Overcoming a lack of parental support may mean ignoring parental wishes and risking alienation from the family. There were no ethnic differences in the anticipated likelihood of encountering barriers associated with pregnancy, sex discrimination, and racial discrimination, and this set of barriers was the lowest rated across all groups; that is, participants were least likely to expect to encounter these barriers. Mexican American participants male and female did anticipate encountering more barriers associated with being married, pressure from boyfriend or girlfriend, lack of teacher support, and not having any friends doing the same thing. In addition, the Mexican American participants expected that both of these groups of barriers would be much more difficult to overcome, and the univariate effect size associated with overcoming these barriers was the largest among the difficulty components. Marriage plans, motherhood,

15 McWhirter et al. / PERCEIVED BARRIERS AND POSTSECONDARY PLANS 133 traditional cultural gender roles, and lack of family support have been identified as educational and/or career barriers by White and Mexican American girls and women (Clayton, 1992; Gomez et al., 2001; Gonzalez, 1988; Luzzo & Hutcheson, 1996; McWhirter, 1997). The current findings indicate these relational and familial barriers are salient for Mexican American young men as well. A lack of support from teachers, who presumably are familiar with the students capabilities and academic potential, may be especially powerful for students whose parents did not obtain postsecondary education and therefore may be less experienced with higher education settings. Teacher support (Ginorio & Huston, 2001; Gomez et al., 2001; McWhirter et al., 2000; Padrón, Waxman, & Rivera, 2002) and peer support (Ginorio & Huston, 2001; Gomez et al., 2001; Padrón et al., 2002) have been highlighted as particularly important in Latino and/or Latina educational achievement. The absence of support to offset or overcome barriers may increase the gap between plans and attainments. In spite of differences in parent education and, presumably, SES, financial barriers did not distinguish Mexican American and White students with respect to Likelihood or Difficulty. Based on means for this group of items, most participants did expect to encounter and to have difficulty overcoming financial barriers. This finding may exemplify the difference between real and perceived barriers (Lent et al., 2000); that is, although students across SES levels may frequently hear parental financial concerns, those concerns manifest in greater actual constraints when the family has fewer economic resources, which is disproportionately the case with Latino families. Similar findings were reported by McWhirter (1997); however, research on Latino college students has identified financial issues as significant barriers to education and career goals among Latino students in prior research (Chacon, Cohen, & Strover, 1985; Clayton, 1992; Gomez et al., 2001; Luzzo, 1993; Luzzo & Jenkins-Smith, 1996). STRENGTHS, LIMITATIONS, AND IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH AND PRACTICE Strengths of the current study include that it is the first study to explore whether perceptions of postsecondary education barriers vary in relation to parent education and to examine specific subtypes of barriers among high school students. Limitations include the small proportion of Mexican American students in the Midwest sample, and the minor wording discrepancy, by school, in the item stem assessing postsecondary plans. Responses did not differ by school, nonetheless, the current research should be replicated with a more heterogeneous sample to increase confidence in the findings. Examination of specific internal and external barriers in relation to education and career related outcomes will further advance understanding of the role of perceived barriers in the educational plans and attainment of high school youth.

16 134 JOURNAL OF CAREER ASSESSMENT / February 2007 Future research and interventions associated with perceived educational barriers should attend to the influence of supports on postsecondary plans. Lent et al. (2000) noted that support variables may mediate the relationship between barriers and career-related interests, choice goals, and actions, and Kenny et al. s (2003) research is consistent with the potential importance of examining support variables in conjunction with barriers. In the current study, there were clear ethnic differences in the perceived likelihood of encountering and difficulty overcoming barriers associated with the support of significant others. Support from parents, teachers, and peers, including romantic partners, is important for all high school students (Alva, 1995; Arbona, 1990; Birch & Ladd, 1997; Constantine et al., 2005; Epstein, Connors, & Salinas, 1993; Farmer, 1985; Kenny et al., 2003; McWhirter et al., 1998; Paa & McWhirter, 2000; Rodriguez, 1994; Tinajero, 1994), and parent interventions that increase the support parents are able to provide their children may be critical. Given the current findings, interventions that assist Mexican American students in identifying and pursuing their educational goals in a manner that respects and enhances their familial and community ties may also be especially useful (Hernández, 2001; Lockwood & Secada, 1999; Quiroz, 1997). Teacher and school counselor attitudes and expectations of students, as well as their level of multicultural competence, are likely to influence their treatment of students and their relationships with parents (e.g., Constantine & Gushue, 2003; Hernández, 2001; Tinkler, 2002). Longitudinal research that accounts for various types of support experienced from parents and teachers over time, and the relationship between supports, barriers, aspirations, and behaviors toward carrying out postsecondary plans will increase our understanding and enhance our interventions. Finally, we note that one of the difficulties inherent in conducting careerrelated research with high school students is that indicators such as educational or career plans are subject to a high degree of variability (e.g., NCES, 2001b). Thus, we recommend that future research efforts utilize additional indicators in research on high school-to-postsecondary transitions. Berkner and Chavez (as cited in NCES, 2001b) note that five sequential steps typically precede college enrollment: (a) deciding to pursue postsecondary education, (b) academically preparing for college, (c) taking the SAT or ACT entrance exams, (d) selecting and applying to colleges, and (e) gaining admission. Assessing these behaviors in addition to postsecondary plans may yield greater understanding of the role of perceived barriers and the gap between plans and attainment. CONCLUSION The purpose of the current study was to examine internal and external perceived barriers in postsecondary educational plans among Mexican American and White high school students. We also examined differences associated with sex and parent

17 McWhirter et al. / PERCEIVED BARRIERS AND POSTSECONDARY PLANS 135 education. Findings include that girls were more likely to anticipate financial barriers to their postsecondary educational pursuits than boys, and that Mexican American students anticipated encountering more internal and external barriers to pursuing postsecondary education, and expected those barriers to be more difficult to overcome, than their White counterparts. We provided suggestions for future research and highlight the potential benefits of interventions that enhance the quality and quantity of support from parents, teachers, and peers. REFERENCES Albaugh, L. M., & Nauta, M. M. (2005). Career decision self-efficacy, career barriers, and college women s experiences of intimate partner violence. Journal of Career Assessment, 13(3), Ali, S. R., & McWhirter, E. H. (in press). Predicting the postsecondary pathways of rural Appalachian high school students. Journal of Career Development. Ali, S. R., McWhirter, E. H., & Chronister, K. M. (2005). Self-efficacy and vocational outcome expectations for adolescents of lower socioeconomic status: A pilot study. Journal of Career Assessment, 13, Alva, S. A. (1995). Academic invulnerability among Mexican American students. In A. M. Padilla (Ed.), Hispanic psychology (pp ). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Amundson, N. E., & Penner, K. (1998). Parent involved career exploration. Career Development Quarterly, 47(2), Arbona, C. (1990). Career counseling research and Hispanics: A review of the literature. The Counseling Psychologist, 18, Azmitia, M., & Cooper, C. (2002). Navigating and negotiating home, school, and peer linkages in adolescence: Final report project 3.3. Retrieved December 4, 2002 from Birch, S., & Ladd, G. W. (1997). The teacher-child relationship and children s early school adjustment. Journal of School Psychology, 35, Chacon, M. A., Cohen, E. G., & Strover, S. (1985). Chicanas and Chicanos: Barriers to progress in higher education. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 7(3), Chen, E. C., Blumberg, F. C., & Austin, R. (2001, August). Acculturation, ethnic identity, and perceived barriers among Asian American youth. In E. C. Chen (Chair) Perceived career barriers: Research-informed interventions for diverse youth. Paper presented at the annual conference of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco. Choy, S. (2002). Students whose parents did not go to college. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Office of Educational Research and Improvement. Clayton, K. K. (1992). Family influence over the occupational and educational choices of Mexican American students. Berkeley, CA: National Center for Research in Vocational Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED367786) Constantine, M. G., & Gushue, G. V. (2003). School counselors ethnic tolerance attitudes and racism attitudes as predictors of their multicultural case conceptualization of an immigrant student. Journal of Counseling and Development, 81(2), Constantine, M. G., Wallace, B. C., & Kindaichi, M. M. (2005). Examining contextual factors in the career decision status of African American adolescents. Journal of Career Assessment, 13(3),

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